Posts by Kat

28

still resisting!

by Kat_ in

this is my first time on a message board relating to anything jw.

i haven't posted anything in the past because i still held to the fear that it would be betraying what i was taught, betraying my family, betraying god.

this is precisely my life as it is now.

Kat_

WARNING: Long Post Ahead, read at your own risk!

Hi all! The replies keep coming and it's amazing each time I sign on seeing how many wonderful people are here! Thanks again for the warm welcomes.

To Esther and Kristen:

You both made very valid points, especially about how letting my mom keep hoping may hurt her in the long run. Well, I agree and will someday just spill the beans. But for now she still thinks I am a total 'believer' even though I haven't gone to a meeting in years. She thinks as long as I show up to Memorial I am okay. (little does she know I haven't been to the last 2). I have no idea why I am so afraid to tell her. It's like I am a little child all over again, afraid of Mommy finding out I've done something bad. My main goal now is to gather enough information to be able to really make my points clear to her...and the rest of my family for that matter. I have just had an epiphany! I just figured out why I am so reluctant to say anything. It just hit me this second as I was typing:

All my life, everytime I come up with an opinion or idea of something, my parents both ask "and who told you that one?"...they are both convinced that I can't think for myself, but rather easily influenced. That couldn't be further from the truth. I am not an outspoken person in that if I have an opinion on something really controversial, I usually keep it to myself. I am a self-proclaimed coward but I really don't care..that's just how I am. As a result of never really speaking out for/against certain beliefs to my family, I think my parents believe that I do not think for myself, that I just go with the flow. So, when I tell my mother my new thoughts, she will be absolutely convinced that my Dad (Catholic) got to me and corrupted my little brain...she will totally insult me by saying that I was 'influenced' by someone, and I will get upset and it will cause a fight--something that hasn't happened since I was about 17. No matter how non-confrontational I like to keep things, one thing I lose my temper at is when someone insults my intelligence by simply not believing that I actually can think for myself. To my parents, I am simply a ditzy girl who was meant to be 'provided for'(my dad is abhorrently opposed to me going back to work before the kids 'grow up') and 'steered'-(Both my parents constantly try to control my life to this day--"You are not raising your children properly", etc...I get it all the time) Bleagh!!! But I am sure many of us have heard that before....and they are still wonderful parents and I love them immensely, this is why I don't bother arguing with them...I just let it go in one ear and out the other...but to actually tell them that, well, that would start a disaster. This is why I talk too much. I feel like no one ever really listens to me--not you guys, but my family, but I think you are accidentally on the receiving end of my motor mouth. Sorry.

In a nutshell, I now realize that I really am just afraid of causing an arguement with my mother and that she'll just end up never believing that I came up with all this by myself...she'll forever believe that someone else influenced me and she will badger me-try to 'save' me-for the rest of my life anyway, so why bother with the headache? She has no respect for me as an individual thinker...just as her daughter. Does that make sense?

So terribly sorry for the length of this post but this is like therapy for me...I have nowhere else to express my thoughts.

Kat

6

From The Witness Zone

by Stephanus in

jw
friends

http://jwzone.dhs.org/ubb/forum8/html/000019.html .

have you ever witnessed to a telemarketer?.

one day this sister i got rained out.

Kat_

<<Look at the bright side. Converting them to be GB worshippers (aka JWs) is probably the best way to get revenge on telemarketers.>> - -Julian

I won't comment on the criticism issue of this thread but:
Legitimate criticism or not, that is one tremendously funny remark.

Kat

19

Ex-JW atheists

by Vienna in

jw
friends

i know there are lots of atheists on the board, so i'm curious what attracted you to becoming a jw in the beginning.

personally, i feel a bond with all ex-jws (and to those of you doubting) since we have gone through the same things.

so my question is not being sarastic, but i'm curious as to why you are where you are.

Kat_

I have to answer this post not only to answer your question but to sort out my own thoughts -- this is still new for me and I can't believe how much it helps to 'get it all out' on this board. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I love this place!

Being born into the JW's, I always had the unquestionable belief in Jehovah. And His son, Jesus Christ. But throughout my life, when anything ever went wrong (there were many 'wrongs') I would pray and pray and feel that He wasn't listening. I was told by fellow JW's that He indeed was listening, but still it never felt 'genuine'--I never felt 'close' to God.

The very night that I opened my eyes and truly was able to question the JW's and ulitmately, reject their teachings, I realized that I still believed 110% in God. I prayed that first night with all my heart. I prayed for guidance and wisdom to know that I was doing the right thing by leaving my JW faith for good. The next day I felt better than I have in years. Ever since then I feel closer to God than I've ever felt. I pray every night and feel energized by it. I feel like He's really listening, and answering, for the very first time. Okay, so I don't have any other religion and I still haven't figured out exactly what I do believe in - but I find I am at a good place for now. I am not super-religious and there is no need to rush into another church. God is finally in my life for real, without all the social trimmings, and I am happy with that.

Maybe I am just a nutcase, maybe it's all in my head, but this works for me. And I think that's all that matters - God or no God, no one will ever figure out all the answers and the best we can do is believe what makes us feel comfortable in our own lives.

All I know is that leaving the JW's behind actually strengthened my faith in God -- Go figure!

That's just my two cents.

Kat

25

Did God create Adam to Live forever??

by bboyneko in

jw
friends

as a jw i was taught god created adam to live forever, but the genesis account seems to say otherwise:.

well first theres this weird problem, the bible says god created man and woman on the same day, the sixth day.

genesis 1:.

Kat_

I've recently read a very interesting book that deals specifically with inconsistencies and curiousities in the Bible. In it, the author writes about the two creation accounts in Genesis:

Most scholars now agree that the Old Testament was written by four or five authors, or groups of authors. So two different people wrote the two different creation accounts.

Naturally he goes on and on about it but I don't want to push information...I just think that seeing as how there was most likely more than one author of Genesis, it's easy to understand how this can occur.

Kat

24

Most hated Rules and Regulations

by Bendrr in

jw
friends

the thread about "clinking" got me to thinking.. what were the rules you hated most?

rules that were just so boneheaded as to be infuriating.. there are so many rules and regulations to follow as a dub.

some rules may not even be able to be referenced in the publications, at least not firmly and clearly.

Kat_

Why no 2-door cars? I heard that before but never figured out why.

Just Wondering,
Kat

18

Cars...our first true love?

by Billygoat in

jw
friends

just for fun - and on a more fun/lighthearted note - i have a few questions to pose:.

1. what was your very first car?.

2. what car are you driving now?

Kat_

First Car:

Just got my drivers license and my step-dad pulled up in a 1993 Pontiac Sunbird convertible. Complete with a red bow hanging on the rearview mirror. Loved that car.

Current Car:

1997 Nissan Sentra GXE - Not my ideal but it does it's job. Except that all of the sudden we have no dash lights and no tail lights - so no nightime driving. But all other lights, including brake lights, work. I feel like a grounded teenager. Can't take it into dealership until Friday...anyone have any ideas what kind of problem this is?

Dream Car:

I have no dream car exactly..more like a dream about a car: Getting a new car, any new car, every two years. Each time this car will be big enough to accommodate a double stroller and two car seats comfortably. It will have ice cold A/C without interruption and nothing will ever go wrong with it. It will give me 100 miles per gallon in city traffic. Oh, and it comes with a gas card with no limit and no expiration date, paid for by my fairy godmother.
Hey, you said "dream"...a girl's gotta have her dreams.

116

most embarrasing thing ever at a meeting ...

by alliwannadoislive in

jw
friends

hey ... i'm just getting into the swing of this great 'apostasy' thing right ... ?

... i thought y'all out there might well have a story or two to tell, so ... plz tell me tell me tell me about the most embarrasing thing you ever saw at a meeting ...

Kat_

Alli, yes, it was vile...that's why we were so embarassed...such a brother in good standing making such a statement--but he was very elderly so no one bothered him-except his wife.

Kat

116

most embarrasing thing ever at a meeting ...

by alliwannadoislive in

jw
friends

hey ... i'm just getting into the swing of this great 'apostasy' thing right ... ?

... i thought y'all out there might well have a story or two to tell, so ... plz tell me tell me tell me about the most embarrasing thing you ever saw at a meeting ...

Kat_

Laughter is the best medicine...keep 'em coming

Once at the KH there was an Elder giving a quick 'talk' to the cong. about dress codes; he had noticed that many of the teenaged girls were wearing short skirts. Too short for his liking. So he goes on and ends with "Jesus, these girls just have to bend over to pick up a book and you can see what they had for breakfast!" Now I didn't really get it--still don't quite understand today. But I remember a rush of murmurs throughout the hall and my Mother going nuts with laughter...trying to hide her 'shame' in finding this so funny at the time. The Elders wife? Beet red face and ANGRY. When he went back to his seat I specifically remember her taking a rolled up watchtower and swatting him with it.

This next one is more of an embarrassing thing to me.

My uncle, who was only 5 years older than me, had attended a meeting with us to appease his mom, my gradmother. He never was into the 'truth' and prefered to just let his poor mother think he was. So he just went to that meeting at her request. Now this guy is known in the family for being extremely funny and merciless in his teasing of the KH ways. Well, during the final song I am standing there just singing along and all of the sudden hear this loud, low "mmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmm" like a chant or meditation sound. I look over and it's my uncle doing this. He has this huge evil grin plastered on his face and just keeps "mmmmm" -ing. It sounded so deep and loud--it seemed to echo, but nobody seemed to be able to tell where it came from. Everyone in the hall is starting to look around wondering if there is something wrong with the sound system. People looking up, down, left, right...trying to locate the source. Meanwhile, good Christian that I am, I am getting so angry at him that I start to try slipping unseen slaps on his arm to get him to shut up. By the time the second verse comes around I am laughing hysterically and quite tempted to join him in the 'chant'. Grandma never knew a thing.

26

One gay mans opinion

by jonjonsimons in

jw
friends

peace and love to everyone,.

the purpose of this post is not..let me repeat not to start a flame war, so as my mother use to tell me, if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.

ok so it doesn't have to be nice but please try and keep it civil.